In a sigh of relief for health care officials, frontline workers and the public who are reeling under the fear of the rare strain of Ebola virus, a vaccine trial could be here within months.
Experts at Oxford University are racing against time to develop a new Ebola vaccine that could enter clinical trials within two to three months. This comes amidst the rush by global health authorities to identify medical options to help contain the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
As per Reuters, Professor Teresa Lambe of the Oxford Vaccine Group said the vaccine uses the same technology developed by UK scientists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In a statement on vaccine efforts relating to the rare strain of Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak in the DRC, the university mentioned that the Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG) is working urgently with Oxford’s own Clinical BioManufacturing Facility and the Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (SIIPL), to rapidly produce and scale doses of ChAdOx-based monovalent Bundibugyo Ebolavirus candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 BDBV.
This ChAdOx platform, a type of viral-vector vaccine, has previously demonstrated a very crucial role in the development of vaccines for emerging infectious diseases and responding to outbreak scenarios. It was the very same platform that underpinned the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
"My hope is that this outbreak can be brought under control quickly and that vaccines are ultimately not needed. Nevertheless, our team and partners will continue working to ensure that potential vaccine options are available if they are needed," Professor Lambe commented.
Over 900 suspected cases and nearly 300 deaths have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda since the outbreak of the virus.